Facing that Giga Impact roaring towards him like a blue meteor, Ash Ketchum's pupils contracted slightly.
He could feel the nearly insane, desperate power contained within that self-sacrificing strike; the air itself was being compressed into ear-piercing sonic booms.
"Sea Scoundrel—Protect!" Ash Ketchum's voice remained clear and cold amidst the roaring thunder, without a shred of hesitation.
Gyarados has a deep move pool and can learn many moves.
How many moves a Pokémon knows is also an indicator that determines its strength.
The more moves it knows, the more situations it can adapt to, and the fewer scenarios where it is left helpless.
No matter what cards the opponent plays, having a countermeasure available here is a powerful safety net.
And [Protect] is one of the moves that almost all Pokémon must learn.
In this world, Pokémon are not limited to four moves.
Therefore, [Protect] is a must-learn.
One can learn it without mastering it, but one must know it.
It is not required to master continuous usage, but succeeding just once during a dangerous moment is enough.
However, the difficulty of learning this move is somewhat high.
It was only after Brock joined that instruction on it was received.
Besides Pokémon learning moves on their own, there also exists the method of learning through normal instruction.
Among Ash Ketchum's Pokémon, only Pikachu and Gyarados have learned it so far.
Pikachu's progress is faster than Gyarados'; Gyarados can currently only barely use it, at a mere LV1 standard.
Pidgeotto has not learned it yet.
Meowth is even further behind... and isn't even by his side right now.
...One can only say that there are still gaps in the individual capabilities of different Pokémon.
Learning ability is a link that is hard to quantify.
A trace of unwillingness flashed through the Golden Gyarados's scarlet dragon eyes—it yearned more to meet violence with violence and crash head-on into the attack.
It is currently very manic, far inferior to Misty's Blue Gyarados in terms of emotional control.
But the Golden Gyarados tried its very best.
The command from the Trainer is like an iron law.
Its massive body was instantly enveloped by a layer of pale green, seemingly fragile energy light.
Protect LV1 was successfully used!
The moment the light shield formed—
"BOOM!!!!!!!"
The blue torrent of Giga Impact, like an out-of-control flash flood, slammed solidly and completely onto that pale green barrier.
The loud sound was deafening.
The entire water field trembled violently, as if it were about to disintegrate at any moment.
The energy barrier let out an overwhelmed, ear-piercing shriek; its surface was instantly covered in spiderweb-like cracks, flickering on and off as if it would completely collapse in the next second.
Under such terrifying impact, the pale green Protect shield emitted a tooth-aching twisting sound, its surface rippling violently as if it were about to shatter like glass.
The Golden Gyarados's massive body was pushed ruthlessly backward by this irresistible force, its thick tail ploughing a huge white trench through the water's surface.
It let out a dull, pained roar; clearly, even though it blocked most of the impact, the vibration and pressure transmitted through still made it extremely uncomfortable.
Protect is not invincible.
The terrifying kinetic energy of Giga Impact still needed to be forcibly endured and dissolved by its body!
Misty clenched her fists tightly, her fingernails almost embedding into her palms, staring unblinkingly at the center of the collision, her breathing completely stalled.
She could feel everything her Gyarados had poured into this strike.
That was not just energy, but a determination resonating with her to transcend fear.
After supporting itself for a second that felt as long as a century yet as fleeting as a moment, the pale green light shield finally let out a wail, exploding like shattered glazed glass and dissipating into the air.
But the destructive power of Giga Impact also finally had its last bit of momentum exhausted by this absolute defense move.
The Golden Gyarados's huge body swayed; the wounds on the side of its neck and body, previously grazed by Ice Fang, burst open due to the immense load, seeping blood dripping into the turbid water.
It panted violently, its scarlet dragon eyes staring dead at the Blue Gyarados in front of it, which had also fallen into a brief stiffness due to releasing Giga Impact; inside those eyes burned fury and ferocity.
—Friend.
—You can't move now, can you?
The malice in the Golden Gyarados's heart began to surge; it was getting a bit high on the adrenaline.
However, the Golden Gyarados's current condition was also very poor, so it did not launch an attack immediately.
Protect, this move, increases energy defense effectiveness and the success rate of continuous use as proficiency rises.
And currently, the Golden Gyarados's Protect is only LV1.
It blocked it.
But it wasn't completely unscathed.
For [Protect] to take specific effect, many factors must be considered.
For instance, if Pikachu were to use Protect LV2.
It probably wouldn't be injured by Gyarados's move, but it would be sent flying.
Protect only increases defense effects; it cannot fix oneself in place, nor does it increase body weight.
—It blocked it!
Misty's heart sank fiercely, a huge sense of loss and powerlessness instantly welling up.
But it was immediately replaced by an even stronger fighting spirit.
It blocked it?
So what!
This Gyarados, just like her, had already given its all without reservation!
Although this Gyarados isn't the trump card Misty usually carries on her person, it is also a Pokémon of the Gym, and it can be said that it has known Misty since she was little.
This Gyarados watched her grow up.
Misty saw the opponent's scarred state, saw that brief but definitely existing stiffness!
This is the chance!
Fine beads of sweat also seeped from Ash Ketchum's temples.
The burden of Protect was far greater than imagined; Sea Scoundrel's condition was declining sharply.
But he looked at the girl standing in the command position opposite him, the corners of his mouth grinning open to start praising:
"That was... a truly amazing strike, Misty."
His voice came through the buzzing of the venue.
"However..."
Ash Ketchum's arm swung down fiercely, his voice like an unsheathed sharp sword, carrying the chill of finality:
"The battle is not over yet!"
"Sea Scoundrel—"
"Finish it! Hyper Beam!!!"
No matter how you put it, the consumption and load of Protect are definitely lower than Giga Impact.
Giga Impact and Hyper Beam have the same degree of side effects, often causing the user to be unable to move for a short time.
The current Blue Gyarados couldn't move at all.
And this is a good opportunity for a one-hit kill; one cannot wait for the Blue Gyarados to recover its mobility.
So small moves cannot be used right now; if one is to use a move, use an ultimate move to decide the victory in one blow.
Ash Ketchum naturally chose Hyper Beam.
By the way, there is a point that needs to be emphasized.
Theoretically speaking, Gyarados can learn and use Thunderbolt to strike other Water-type Pokémon.
But in actual practice, Trainers generally wouldn't do this.
The power of lightning is not that easy to control.
Using Thunderbolt in water often means electrocuting oneself along with the target.
Plus, Water-type Pokémon are inherently afraid of lightning... using Thunderbolt makes it very easy to hurt the enemy by a thousand while damaging oneself by eight hundred.
Of course, Ash Ketchum's current Gyarados hasn't learned Thunderbolt yet.
Brock can currently only teach Ash Ketchum some relatively common and versatile moves—such as: Protect, Foresight, Haze, etc.
Anyway, those dirty tactics in the game that are limited to the four-move restriction have no feasibility in practice.
Especially Haze.
Haze can clear stat changes.
Destroying buffs is much simpler than continuously stacking buffs.
The so-called buff-stacking style often only has the power for one strike, and then it gets countered.
Usually, the stat-boosting style is paired with the high-speed style.
Buff-type Pokémon moving at high speeds are not easily hit by [Haze].
____
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